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Blue Jackets Not Interested In Joel Quenneville

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The Columbus Blue Jackets remain the only team without a head coach for the 2024-25 NHL season as Don Waddell fired previous bench boss Pascal Vincent on June 17th. Since being reinstated by the league on July 1st, multiple reports have linked Joel Quenneville with the head coaching vacancy in Columbus. However, it appears Quenneville will have to wait for a new NHL home as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports the Blue Jackets have no interest in Quenneville.

Quenneville unceremoniously resigned from his previous position as head coach of the Florida Panthers during the 2021-22 season after league investigations unearthed his involvement in the Kyle Beach sexual assault allegations against then-video coach Brad Aldrich during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. According to reporting, Quenneville diminished the matter at hand due to eliminating ’distractions’ during the Chicago Blackhawks’ quest for the Stanley Cup.

Upon his resignation, Quenneville said, “I want to express my sorrow for the pain this young man, Kyle Beach, has suffered. My former team – the Blackhawks — failed Kyle and I own my share of that. I want to reflect on how all this happened and take the time to educate myself on ensuring hockey spaces are safe for everyone“. After nearly three years away from the game, league commissioner Gary Bettman decided that Quenneville and others were eligible for reinstatement due to, “each of these three individuals has acknowledged that and used his time away from the game to engage in activities which, not only demonstrate sincere remorse for what happened, but also evidence greater awareness of the responsibilities that all NHL personnel have, particularly personnel who are in positions of leadership“.

Outside of the obvious controversy from the 2010 playoffs, Quenneville sits just behind legendary coach Scotty Bowman for the most wins in NHL history behind the bench. The veteran head coach has spent 25 years in the NHL between the St. Louis Blues (eight years), Colorado Avalanche (three years), Chicago Blackhawks (11 years), and Florida Panthers (three years). Over that stretch, Quenneville has compiled a record of 969-572-77-150 over 1,768 games and has made the playoffs 20 times with three Stanley Cup rings.

This takes one name off the list for Columbus as the team looks to rebound from a disastrous season in 2023-24. The Blue Jackets have not made the postseason since the 2019-20 season and have finished last place in the Metropolitan Division three out of the past four years. The next head coach for the franchise will be important as Columbus has legitimate talent on the roster such as Johnny Gaudreau and a wealth of prospects on the way.

Snapshots: Dillon, Swayman, Yager

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The New Jersey Devils were quick to bring in defenseman Brenden Dillon when free agency opened on July 1st, signing him to a three-year, $12MM contract. But that wasn’t the first time the Devils tried to acquire the physical defender, with Dillon sharing on Sportsnet’s The Hockey PDOcast that the Devils also wanted to acquire him at the Trade Deadline. He added that Winnipeg was hesitant to move any of their pending unrestricted free agents amid a strong season.

Dillon was a focal piece of the Jets’ success, once again returning to his stout role on the team’s second pairing and posting 20 points for the third year in a row. He found ways to make his presence felt every single game, leading Winnipeg with 241 hits in 77 games – 20 hits ahead of anyone else on the team – and ranking third with 111 blocked shots.

It’s clear to see why the Devils of all teams would be interested in Dillon’s services. New Jersey is entering next season with an incredibly skilled, but underdeveloped, blue-line – headlined by Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. Both players are still rounding out their two-way game early in their careers and could stand to benefit from the physical punch that Dillon brings to the lineup. His veteran status is a nice perk as well, with Dillon appearing in 892 games across 13 seasons in the league.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The deadline for clubs to file for salary arbitration with their arbitration-eligible restricted free agents passed on Saturday with no clubs filing additional cases, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Notably, this leaves star goaltender Jeremy Swayman off the list of arbitration cases. Swayman has emerged as one of the league’s strongest goalies over the last four seasons, posting 79 wins and a .919 save percentage across 132 career games. All of those games came in tandem with Vezina Trophy goaltender Linus Ullmark, though, making Swayman’s value as a standalone starter hard to gauge. That led many to anticipating arbitration, though the Bruins will now get to negotiate with Swayman directly. He’ll be set up for the lions share of Bruins’ starts next season, regardless of how these contract talks pan out.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins are leaving the door open for top prospect Brayden Yager to make the 2024-25 roster, shares Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Yager is coming off a championship-winning season in the WHL, scoring 122 points across 77 games while serving as the Moose Jaw Warriors’ top centerman. He also posted five points in five World Juniors games – on the back of very dynamic playmaking in the middle lane. It was a standout year for Yager, capping off what’s been a stellar WHL career, with Yager totaling 250 points in 211 juniors games. Even with the optimism around his chances next season, Yager has not yet signed his entry-level contract and remains eligible for the WHL next season.

Utah Signs Curtis Douglas

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The Utah Hockey Club has signed forward Curtis Douglas to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The details of the contract have not been disclosed.

Douglas was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He played in the OHL for two seasons after his draft year, before spending the 2020-21 pandemic season with Austria’s Linz Steel Wings of the Alps Hockey League. It was Douglas’ first taste of professional hockey and he managed it well, recording 12 points in 16 games before joining the AHL in the year’s second-half.

Douglas was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He played in the OHL for two seasons after his draft year, ultimately ending his juniors career left unsigned by Dallas. In response, Douglas moved to Austria’s Alps Hockey League for the 2020-21 pandemic season. It was his first taste of professional hockey and he managed it well, recording 12 points in 16 games while negotiating an amateur try-out agreement with the AHL’s Belleville Senators. He joined Belleville in the year’s second half, ultimately posting four points, eight penalty minutes, and a +6 in his first 11 AHL games.

That was enough of a showing to earn Douglas a contract with the Toronto Marlies for the following season. Under that deal, Douglas managed a career-high 13 goals and 34 points in 67 games – adding 86 penalty minutes to boot. But a midseason move to the Tuscon Roadrunners in the following year stalled out his scoring. Douglas has been much more of an intimidator now with Tuscon, totaling a whopping 267 penalty minutes across his 107 games with the club. That averages out to 2.5 penalty minutes each game.

And while Douglas seems far from the NHL lineup after his 21 points this season, his standout size and grit have proven worth investing in. With a new deal in place, he’ll plan to return to Tuscon next season, and hopefully find the scoring touch that’s eluded him over the last two years.

Hurricanes Sign Josiah Slavin

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Josiah Slavin to a two-year, two-way contract (Twitter link). The deal will carry a league-minimum $775K cap hit at the NHL level, and pay out $150K at the AHL level – though $450K is guaranteed.

Slavin was originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the seventh round of the 2018 NHL Draft. He transitioned to Colorado College two seasons later, then turned pro following the end of his sophomore season in 2020-21. He posted seven points through his first 15 games with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, setting him up well for a strong rookie season the following year.

Slavin took advantage of the chance, netting 18 goals and 32 points in 49 games in 2021-22. That scoring earned him his NHL debut midway through the year, though an assist in his debut would be Slavin’s only scoring through 15 games with Chicago. The tepid start in the NHL earned Slavin a move back to minor leagues, where he’s been ever since. He spent the 2023-24 season with the Toronto Marlies, where he posted 10 goals and 24 points across 70 games.

It seems Slavin will be destined for the minor leagues once again on his new deal with the Hurricanes, though he’ll get a boost of motivation by joining an organization led in part by brother Jaccob Slavin. Jaccob has carved out a proud, top-line role in Carolina over the last nine seasons, earning plenty of praise for his two-way reliability and leadership along the way. Jaccob’s “gentlemanly conduct” was recognized this season with his second Lady Byng Trophy in the last four years – placing him among a rare list of repeat winners, including Anze Kopitar, Martin St. Louis, and Pavel Datsyuk.

Flyers Sign Yegor Zamula To Two-Year Extension

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed restricted-free agent Yegor Zamula to a two-year, $3.4MM contract extension, per NBC Sports’ Jordan Hall (Twitter link). Hall adds that the annual average value will be $1.7MM.It’s the first deal of Zamula’s career north of $1MM.

Zamula played through his first full season in the NHL this year, recording five goals and 21 points across 66 games with the Flyers. It was his first taste of an everyday role at the top level, after spending the last three seasons bouncing between the NHL and AHL lineups. He played through 26 total NHL games prior to this year, recording just four assists – all tallied in the 14 games he played with Philadelphia last season. Zamula has otherwise been stout in the minor leagues, where he’s totaled 54 points across 127 career games.

Having proven his worth at the top level this year, the two-way Zamula now gets a golden chance to carve out a confident spot in the Flyers lineup on this two-year deal. Zamula notably ends the contract with one year of RFA eligibility remaining, giving him a bit more security amid a deep Flyers defense corps. He’ll be competing with players like Erik Johnson, Nick Seeler, and Ronnie Attard for ice time near the bottom of Philadelphia’s lineup.

Blue Jackets To Sign Zachary Sawchenko

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The Columbus Blue Jackets are expected to sign depth goaltender Zachary Sawchenko to a one-year deal, per Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link). Sawchenko became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Vancouver Canucks following a one-year, two-way deal with the club.

Sawchenko spent the full contract with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, though he served as the team’s third-string goalie and only drew in to 12 games, split evenly between the regular season and playoffs. He was hot in the flashes he played in, ending the year with six wins and a .910 save percentage. That includes a standout performance in the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs, when Sawchenko posted a career-high 47 saves to propel Abbotsford to the second round.

But even with promising flashes, it was a down year for Sawchenko – just one season after his first season as a starter. Sawchenko – signed as an undrafted free agent in 2019 – appeared in a career-high 41 games with the Chicago Wolves last season, after three seasons in backup roles. He didn’t find much of a groove in the spot, though, posting just 17 wins and a .895 save percentage. That performance pushed him back down the depth chart – a role he’s likely to maintain with the Blue Jackets, who already have Nolan Lalonde and Jet Greaves signed to contracts that could push them into an AHL role.

Snapshots: Snuggerud, Keenan, Carrick

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The St. Louis Blues will have to wait for the end of another collegiate season to see former first-round pick Jimmy Snuggerud make the full-time jump to the NHL. However, that may be the maximum length of time the team will have to wait as general manager Doug Armstrong believes Snuggerud can join the team towards the end of next season (Subscription Article).

The Blues organization drafted Snuggerud with the 23rd overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and he has spent the last two seasons at the University of Minnesota. During that time, Snuggerud has been an impactful player at the NCAA level as he’s scored 42 goals and 84 points in 79 games with the Gophers. The St. Louis prospect will hope that the third time is a charm for his National Championship dreams as the Gophers finished as runner-ups in 2022-23 and lost in the Regional Final this season to Boston University.

Despite his reputation as a promising prospect in the Blues organization, it may be difficult for Snuggerud to find a comfortable position in the lineup as the team has considerably improved its forward depth over the summer. If St. Louis finds themselves out of the playoff race by the time Snuggerud makes the jump to the NHL, they may have to part with Radek Faksa or Kasperi Kapanen in some manner to make room in their everyday lineup.

Other snapshots:

  • Legendary head coach Mike Keenan will not return as Team Italy’s head coach as he transitions to a consulting role while recovering from open heart surgery (X Link). Keenan had been serving as head coach of Italy’s national team since his ouster as head coach of the Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League in 2022. It appears Keenan’s career as a head coach may be coming to an official close. Infamously, Keenan spent 25 years as a head coach in the NHL while combining for a 672-531-147-36 record while being the first coach to win a Stanley Cup and Gagarin Cup.
  • Veteran defenseman of the American Hockey League, Trevor Carrick, will return to his original home as the Charlotte Checkers announced he has signed a two-year AHL deal with the franchise. Carrick spent the first five years of his professional career within the Carolina Hurricanes organization where he compiled 40 goals and 181 points for the Checkers in 347 games. Carrick has spent the last four years bouncing between the San Diego Gulls and Syracuse Crunch where he has continued to be one of the top offensive defensemen in the league.

Flyers Sign Jett Luchanko To Entry-Level Contract

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The Philadelphia Flyers have put pen to paper with their first-round pick of the 2024 NHL Draft as the team announced it had signed forward Jett Luchanko to a three-year, entry-level contract. Luchanko was the 13th overall pick of last week’s draft and the Flyers organization did not seem comfortable letting him walk away from the team’s development camp without a deal in place.

Luchanko’s immediate attribute whenever he hits the ice is his energy. During his time in the Ontario Hockey League with the Guelph Storm Luchanko is consistently seen tailing opposition players with the puck and transitioning the play into offense. Throughout his second year in the Storm program, Luchanko scored 20 goals and 74 points in 68 games while leading his team in all major offensive categories.

Even though he consistently steals pucks from his opponents, Luchanko appears to be in their good graces as he won the OHL’s William Hanley Trophy as the league’s most sportsmanlike player. Outside of the regular season, Luchanko has been unable to generate much playoff production as he’s tallied four assists over 10 postseason contests throughout his major junior career. The young forward is bound to return to Guelph for the 2024-25 OHL season as he could still use some seasoning before turning professional.

Luchanko also has some experience at the international level as he suited up for Team Canada in the 2024 Under-18 World Junior Championships. The London, Ontario native quickly became one of the top players in the tournament as he scored two goals and seven points in seven games en route to Team Canada winning their first gold medal since the tournament in 2021.

Carolina Hurricanes Pursuing Nikolaj Ehlers

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One of the storylines heading into the 2024 offseason was the number of players on the trading block. Although a few players have already been moved to new clubs, Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets has still not found a new home. Hoping to change that, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News reported yesterday that the Carolina Hurricanes are pushing heavily for Ehlers’ services.

Carolina’s interest comes as no surprise with the team losing Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, and Stefan Noesen on the free-agent market in only a week. Acquiring a player of Ehlers caliber could help soften the blow for the Hurricanes as they look to continue their dominance in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division during the regular season. Carolina would also present a natural trade partner for Winnipeg as they have a change-of-scenery candidate, as well.

The likelihood of Carolina moving on from forward Martin Necas has certainly dissipated over the last several days as the Hurricanes may be better served by signing the restricted free agent to contract with the amount of depth they lost up front. However, if Carolina is still looking to trade Necas, a one-for-one swap with the Jets might make the most sense. Assuming that both players are willing to discuss an extension as a part of the deal — a trade involving Ehlers for Necas might be the easiest path forward for both sides.

Ehlers style of play would fit seamlessly in Carolina as he has one of the better possession games in the league. Throughout his tenure in Winnipeg dating back to the 2015-16 NHL season, Ehlers has scored 201 goals and 457 points in 605 games while averaging a CorsiFor% of 57.6% over that stretch. The biggest criticism of Ehlers’ game, and simultaneously for the Hurricanes, is his lack of performance during the postseason as he’s only scored four goals and 14 points in 37 playoff contests.

Blackhawks Sign Artyom Levshunov To Entry-Level Contract

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The last of the top-three selections of the 2024 NHL Draft has signed his entry-level contract as the Chicago Blackhawks announced they have signed the second overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. Levshunov foregoes his sophomore season at Michigan State University to compete for a spot on the Blackhawks’ opening night roster out of training camp.

Immediately becoming the best defensive prospect in the organization under contract with this move, the Blackhawks will take care of Levshunov’s development for the rest of the way. Chicago’s general manager, Kyle Davidson, praised Levshunov after the signing, “Signing Artyom gives us the opportunity to continue his development in house and take the next step into professional hockey. He’s a strong two-way defenseman that has all the tools to be a high-end player in the NHL and we’re excited to continue his growth at the pro level“.

Levshunov joined the Spartans after spending one season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL where he recorded 13 goals and 42 points in 62 games. The young Belarusian defenseman grew his game extensively upon reaching the NCAA ranks by scoring nine goals and 35 points in 38 games while earning a +27 rating. At the end of the 2023-24 NCAA season, Levshunov made the All-Big Ten First Team and All-Big Ten Freshman Team in addition to being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

The Spartans also recorded one of their best seasons in recent history on the backs of Levshunov. Michigan State finished first in the Conference for the first time since the 2000-01 season and beat their rival University of Michigan in the Conference Championship. Unfortunately for Levshunov and the Spartans, the team would have their season ended in the Regional Final of the 2024 Frozen Four in an act of retribution from the Wolverines.

The Blackhawks organization may do well to start Levshunov in the American Hockey League with their affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. Levshunov should get plenty of ice time down in the AHL and can build up confidence in his game at the professional level before joining the team in Chicago when they are ready to take the next step in their rebuild.

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